Also in Berkeley: If you\u2019re looking for a unique musical that will energize you while also touching your heart, don\u2019t miss Berkeley Rep\u2019s world premiere of \u201cThe Lunchbox,\u201d running through July 5.<\/p>\n
From beginning to end, Director Rachel Chavkin, her talented artistic team and her fabulous performers have the audience in the palm of their hands as they tell the story of Ila (Kuhoo Verma), a lonely young wife and Fernandes (Manu Narayan), a soon-to-retire accountant. When the lunchbox destined for Ila\u2019s husband accidentally goes to Fernandes, both their worlds change forever.<\/p>\n
Adding to the depth of the piece is Ila\u2019s neighbor Mrs. Desphande (Anisha Nagarajan), who cares for her comatose husband while offering Ila cooking and romantic advice. Shaikh (Aathaven Tharmarajah) fills out Fernandes\u2019 work life as the well-meaning but incompetent trainee with his own set of problems.<\/p>\n
What makes this musical so special is the way playwright Ritesh Batra and composers Daniel and Patrick Lazour deal with the pain of loneliness by adding uplifting melodies and artfully placed humor throughout the 90-minute, no intermission production.<\/p>\n
All the leads have lovely, soulful voices enriched by a talented ensemble. Together they shape powerful performances enriched with Choreographer Reshma Gajjar\u2019s intricate movements.<\/p>\n
Music Director Sheela Ramesh and her tight orchestra stay close to the action inhabiting two of the apartments on Scenic Designer Mimi Lien\u2019s elaborate, multi-level stage which spins around showing various parts of the apartments. Lien\u2019s creative design also allows for quick and artfully choreographed set changes.<\/p>\n
This is a show not to be missed. For tickets, call 510-647-2949 or go to berkeleyrep.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n Oakland: A herculean effort is involved in moving its ambitious production of Federico Garcia Lorca\u2019s \u201cThe House of Bernarda Alba\u201d from the Oakland Theater Project\u2019s intimate space at the Flax building to the large ballroom at the Omni Center on 4799 Shattuck Ave. in Oakland. Here OTP can give Lorca\u2019s tragedy the space needed to tell of the widow Bernarda and her five daughters.<\/p>\n While Chay Yew\u2019s adaptation makes the story more accessible for today\u2019s audiences, it still retains the intensity of a Greek tragedy as the oppression of the women by the patriarchal society and the power of the Catholic Church unfolds.<\/p>\n Sam Fehr\u2019s ingenious set adds intensity by enclosing the performers in a glass box while the lone male (Jaden Ramsey) wanders around the outside walls. A large white cross surrounded by dirt becomes the main playing area enhanced by Sarah Phykitt\u2019s projections and sound, \u00a0and Ashley Munday\u2019s lighting.<\/p>\n Here a tyrannical Bernarda (Lisa Ramirez) mourns her husband while her daughters (Natalie Pasquinelli,\u00a0\u00c8ssa\u00a0Vilanue, Antonella Scogna, Sarah Jiang and Sarah Kasuga) long to be free and their grandmother (Angelina Fiordellisi) slowly goes mad. The only one who dares to stand up to Bernarda is her long-time servant Poncia (Jacinta Kaumbulu).<\/p>\n Director Michael Socrates Moran brings out the best in his talented cast as does Bear Graham with his stylist movements. The rhythmic music and sorrowful singing provide a welcome release to the tension.<\/p>\n While Lorca 1936 work protested the fascism taking over Spain, Yew reminds us that current attitudes towards minorities and women is just as damaging.<\/p>\n \u201cThe House of Bernarda Alba\u201d runs through Sunday. For tickets, call 510-646-1126 or go to oaklandtheaterproject.org\/house<\/a>.<\/p>\n Reach Sally Hogarty at sallyhogarty@gmail.com<\/a>, and read more of her reviews online at eastbaytimes.com\/author\/sally-hogarty<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The East Bay offers three very different yet well-done productions during June. Whether you prefer a fanciful musical,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":341369,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[2245,32184,2226,2248,2241,1472,2246,2242,967,2240,143,145,144,2562,140640,2244,2239,2247,2243,1058],"class_list":["post-341368","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-oakland","tag-acting","tag-berkeley-playhouse","tag-berkeley-rep","tag-choreography","tag-comedy","tag-dance","tag-directing","tag-drama","tag-entertainment","tag-musicals","tag-oakland","tag-oakland-headlines","tag-oakland-news","tag-oakland-theater-project","tag-omni-center","tag-on-stage","tag-performing-arts","tag-screenwriting","tag-singing","tag-theater"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/341368","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=341368"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/341368\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/341369"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=341368"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=341368"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=341368"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Lisa](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/BRN-L-CC-COL-0605-2.jpg\")
Lisa Ramirez is the tyrannical Bernarda in Lorca’s “The House of Bernarda Alba” running through June 7 at Omni Commons in Oakland. (Photo courtesy of Ben Krantz Studio)\u00a0<\/p>\n